


Stress Test

by UnknownSatellite84



Series: Noncontober 2020 [11]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Altered Mental States, Atlas CEO Rhys, Awkward Boners, Cybernetics, Degradation, Extremely Dubious Consent, Fear, Fear Boner, Grinding, Handsome Jack (Borderlands) Being an Asshole, Lust, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Name-Calling, Noncontober 2020, Obedience, Partial Mind Control, Rhys is Grumpy, Rival CEOs, implied erectile dysfunction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:27:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27171053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownSatellite84/pseuds/UnknownSatellite84
Summary: Jack shows up at Rhys's suite, wanting to try out a new program in Rhys's cybernetics, unbeknownst to Rhys.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands)
Series: Noncontober 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952530
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	Stress Test

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Noncontober Day 19: Mind Break and Day 22: Degradation. 
> 
> Notes on the prompts: this isn't really a mind break as it's usually considered. More of a mind break in the sense that Rhys's headspace is altered. Although, you could imagine if this goes on long enough, could lead to an actual mind break, but this fic doesn't go that far... And degradation is Jack being an asshole.

Rhys made his way back to his CEO suite, yawning. It was getting late, and he was nearly done for the day. He carried a few things from the office, planning to finish up on his super-soft sofa, devour some ice cream, and then pass out for the weekend. Okay, not all that literally, but it was close to his goals. He took the elevator to his destination, and then entered his flat, a huge spacious place with broad windows to show off the Promethean skyline. Meanwhile, he focused on his palm interface, checking his emails.

“Hello, Rhysie.”

Rhys jumped out of his skin and shrieked, eyes wide. He scrambled wildly, throwing his hands up, expecting danger. When he wasn’t assaulted, he did a double-take and….He cleared his throat and glared pointedly. “What the hell are you doing here in my _home_?” He asked, tensing. 

A raised-eyebrowed Jack was lounging on one of Rhys’s sofas, legs kicked up on the coffee table, and that bugged Rhys for multiple reasons. One, it was annoying. Two, it was too late to deal with this shit. Three, there was probably mud on the table now, since Jack’s shoes were still on. And most importantly, four, Jack shouldn’t have been able to get into _his_ suite. Not that Rhys was shocked he had somehow done so. He would have to ramp up security again.

Jack chuckled. “Just chillin’, cupcake, jeeze.”

“Get out.” Rhys jammed a thumb over his shoulder at the door. He was too used to Jack’s antics, and it left him mostly angry. He didn’t think Jack would reveal himself if this was an assassination in the works, so he wasn’t afraid. Or, well, not completely. Jack wasn’t easy to be around even at the best of times.

Jack shifted into what looked like a more comfortable position, pushing his head back into the huge cushion. “Nah.”

Rhys sighed and rolled his eyes. “At least tell me what you’re doing here? For real?”

“Just wanted to see my best pal, Rhysie!” When Rhys gave Jack his best unimpressed look, Jack went on. “You’re no fun anymore, pumpkin... Okay, fine...you got me. Look, after signing the little truce between our companies, I just came for some reassurances. _Honestly_.” He spread his hands.

Rhys sighed again. “We went over that in the meeting. I answered your questions. I signed the agreement. I already promised not to do anything untoward. What else is there? Are you backing out?”

Jack’s legs dropped off the table, and Rhys winced. Jack finally got out of Rhys’s sofa, standing and turning to gaze out at the city skyline through the windows. “I prefer Elpis. It’s prettier.” He turned back. He eyed Rhys heavily, as if searching for something. “Anyway, it’s hard to _trust_ , kitten. A _looooot_ of people have promised, and signed papers, and gave me reassurances...only to then turn around and try to stick a knife in my shoulders. Figuratively speaking.” 

Jack drew closer, clasping his hands like an excited kid. “Buuuut, luckily, I decided to start planning for that sort of shit _long_ ago.” Jack paused before him. Rhys had learned not to back down when Jack tested him, so he didn’t retreat. He met Jack’s gaze defiantly. “I don’t have any desire to kill you, Rhys. And that’s usually how I handle my problems. So, I decided to try a new route this time. I can trust you this way, and you won’t betray me! It’s great. You’re the perfect candidate for it, too, being a cyborg an’ all.”

“Uhhhh, what are you talking about?”

“This.”

Jack looped an arm around Rhys’s shoulder. Rhys was confused. Jack could be handsy, but he didn’t understand what Jack meant by saying ‘this’. Jack’s face filled up with a huge grin. His other hand came up and-

“What is that!?” Rhys said, trying to pull away. Jack’s grip tightened, fingers gripping Rhys’s vest to prevent his retreat.

Rhys realized in a split second, the object was a Echo Port jack-

Jack jabbed it into his Echo Port. Rhys flinched, trying to reach up and yank it out. After a minute of fighting Jack’s hands, Jack let go of him. Rhys wrenched the thing out of his head and tossed it away, heart pounding. The whole horrible moment had only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed to have accomplished its task. Rhys’s Echo Eye popped up a few warnings. They vanished quickly, and that worried him more. He’d taken no corrective measures.

Rhys put distance between himself and Jack, running a few diagnostics. He could not detect what damages Jack’s device had done, try as he might. He couldn’t imagine Jack’s tech was benign, after all. However, it must’ve integrated so seamlessly, his own system couldn’t find anything wrong, and that was...was, almost impossible. Jack was good at programming, but Rhys was also good. 

Was this a weird prank?

Trying not to shake with his sudden panic, he met Jack’s weird curious-but-patient gaze, almost as if Jack didn’t know how this moment would play out. He seemed to be expecting something.

“What the hell was that?” Rhys hissed, trying to hide his own nervousness. He resisted the urge to reach up and rub his port experimentally.

“Hmm, feel any different, cupcake?” Jack asked.

“Not really.”

“Sit down.”

Rhys did, plopping onto the same sofa Jack had used. It took him a moment to wonder why he did it. He wasn’t really in a sitting mood, and Jack’s order was odd, to say the least. Plus, Rhys wasn’t one to just leap at orders, especially from a rival CEO. Still, some of his fear had evaporated. He felt an unusual contentedness underneath of it.

“Wait, wait,” Jack said, scratching his head and grunting. He looked put upon. “That one’s too easy, uh…” Jack looked around, brow furrowed. “Go to the kitchen and get me some wine.”

“Why the hell would-” Rhys was cut off by a sharp discomfort that jolted through his core. “ _Ow_ , what the hell-” He blinked. It was _like_ pain, but not quite. It wasn’t physical. Beside it, there was an impulse that was hard to resist, to do just what Jack wanted. And the longer he refused it, the more unbearable it got, like a really painful itch he wasn’t scratching. 

Rhys scrambled to his feet and into the kitchen, feeling the discomfort lessen as he went through the motions to pour a glass of wine. Jack followed, a smile growing on his face. He took the wine Rhys offered.

“Oh god, this is the best shit I’ve ever seen!” Jack exclaimed. He slowly raised his smile to look at Rhys. He looked almost...proud. Of what, Rhys couldn’t guess.

Rhys must be in a strange dream.

“The wine?” Rhys shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Wait a minute... What’s _going_ on?” Rhys’s fingers went from his eyes to his temples as he thought about the sequences of events. First the sitting thing. Then, the uncontrollable need to do what Jack had ordered and get his wine... He put two and two together. “Jack...did you...did you put a freaking bot control routine in my cybernetics!?” 

“Calm down, kitten, it’s not a big deal.” Jack’s face split, and he burst out laughing wildly. “Oh my god, ah, who am I kidding, it’s _great_ , isn’t it. Damn, I’m good.” He took a big gulp of the wine.

“This is not great!” Rhys hissed. “Reverse this immediately. I never agreed-”

“ _Come on_ , don’t be a stick in the mud. This is how I can come to trust you, Rhys. Think of it as pre-emptively saving your life!”

“Fuck the hell off and get out of my home!”

“But this is so much fun!” Jack argued. He drained the cup he’d been working on. “Get me more wine.” Jack gave the glass back to Rhys.

Rhys sighed angrily but complied. After getting Jack’s drink, he also got some for himself because his own stress was mounting. He just had to get Jack out of his hair and then he’d probably have to spend his weekend trying to figure out how to reverse Jack’s programming. He chugged his glass angrily. He’d just wanted to relax. Damn this man.

At least it wasn’t worse, he told himself. Jack could've put anything on that device. Rhys needed to be way more careful. He’d just let Jack grab him, after all.

Jack was speaking, “I mean, isn’t this crazy? I could ask... _anyone_ to do _anything_ , and they’d listen, right? Think of how much more efficient my employees would be if I rolled this out on the full scale. A whole lotta worker drone fan club just doing _exactly_ what I say. Fewer screw-ups, probably. They’d all be creaming their panties to please me. And the Hyperion soldiers. Can’t run away from a battle if it causes extreme pain to do so!”

“Jack, okay, it’s cool, great, good for you,” Rhys lied. There was an uncomfortable flush rising up his neck, the more he thought about what Jack did to him, the more intense it became. Fear was there in his gut, but also...something else. He tried not to think about it too hard. At least he could still lie, right? “Now could you go? I-”

“Uh-uh, this is sort of an experiment, right now. An ongoing one. I’m thinking we should stress this a bit…” Jack’s head tilted. “Oh come on, don’t look like _that_ . I’m not going to like, ask you to suck my dick or something, though I’m sure you’d like that, since you’re a nasty little creep… Now _there’s_ an idea, isn’t it? Ohoho, he’s blushing?! You _like_ that?!”

“ _Shut up_!” Rhys snapped. He slammed a fist on the nearby countertop. Jack pulled the innocent-pretend-surprise face at that. “Jack, get out of my suite before I kill you.”

“Hope you’re joking, pumpkin, ‘cause uh...that’s another little fun thing about that code. You can’t kill me!” He chuckled. “Also, I’m now like, triple glad I did this. You would have definitely wound up betraying me anyway.”

Rhys squirmed at this new power dynamic between them. Jack held his life in his hands. He could make Rhys do _anything_. Sign documents, kill people, and...sexual things, if he wished. It was too easy for Jack to abuse this power. And Jack was definitely good at deciding when his will overruled everyone else’s… Which was every time.

Rhys felt overheated and tingly. God damn it.

“Anyway...it’s on your mind now, aint it?” Jack said, almost quietly, in a conspiratorial way. “You just keep blushing like a frickin’ virgin.” Jack started towards Rhys, grinning again. Rhys’s back hit the wall, and he blinked. He hadn’t realized he’d been retreating. Jack crowded him in, arms on both sides of his head. Rhys tried to fight down the feelings in him. This close, Jack’s body heat and sheer presence were...doing things to him. “I mean, I get it. Deep down, you’re still just one big horny fanboy, aren’t you? It’s kind of pathetic, honestly. You’ve got your own whole ass mega-corporation, and you’re probably still pulling your dick to posters or obscure fanporn of me or something. Still getting off to big bad Jack doing what he wants to you, huh? I guess it’s understandable. I am the best.”

Rhys looked away, shame and arousal flowing through him. Rhys vacillated in his own mind. Jack had put something in his head to control him. Was the arousal thing all pre-planned to humiliate him? Sure, Rhys had found Jack physically attractive before and...okay, he used to have a pretty strong fan obsession. But he’d put that behind him. No posters, no porn. 

Jack had to be responsible for this somehow.

“You aren’t even _trying_ to deny it,” Jack crooned in Rhys’s silence. “This is _fantastic_ . Well, time to get your confessions off your chest, kiddo. Come on, let’s hear 'em… Oh _wow_ , you really like this, don’t you? 

Rhys glanced back at Jack to find Jack looking at...Rhys’s tented pants. “Shut up,” Rhys snapped. He shoved Jack back. “You’re making this happen, aren’t you!? With the code!?”

“Is that what you think, kiddo?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Well, you’re wrong. This is all _you_ . All the code does is give you extreme discomfort if you disobey a verbal, direct, capable-of-being-carried-out order. Or give you some feel-good juice if you obey. Oh and it also gives you an inclination to do what you are asked... It works by your own understanding and willing refusal or lack thereof. Too long, didn’t read, it can’t make you...” he gestured at Rhys’s boner. “Do that. Unless you somehow get horny off just the thought of being forced to obey...which I think has nothing to do with my _programming_ , Rhysie.” Jack looked smug.

Rhys wanted to hide his boner. He wasn’t happy that Jack kept staring at it. It was too late, but he was tired of how amused Jack seemed to be. Also if what Jack was saying was true, why hadn’t it gone down yet? There was plenty of subpar stuff going on right now to kill a mood.

Rhys’s head thunked back against the wall. “Ugggh _fuck_ my life.” 

“Could fuck a lot more than that, right now.”

Rhys gazed at Jack. Jack’s eyes were blown, and his intense interest was so unusual. He was typically quite flippant towards Rhys, but right now, his expression made Rhys squirm. Everything about this situation was making him squirm. The thought...it wasn’t like he hadn’t had fantasies, some involving Jack forcing him to do stuff. And now, he literally could. “Jack.”

“What?”

“Make me do it,” Rhys hissed, throat tightening, hands trembling just slightly. “Because I’m not doing it willingly.”

“Doooo what?”

“What do you think?” 

“You...want me to order you to… Do something sexual?”

“You wanted a stress test, right?”

“I wouldn’t call that a stress test, if you’re so eager.”

“I’m not eager. I’ll fight it, until I can’t. Dignity and all that.”

“‘Dignity’ he says, with a boner.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re just using this for your _kinks_ , cupcake, _admit it_. Friggin’ damn it, I shoulda seen this coming.”

“Either stress test this shit or leave!”

Jack smirked. “Alright, Rhys.” He stuck out his leg. “Come grind against my thigh until you cum in your pants for me like a little horny slut.”

Rhys shivered at the command, and the urge to do so was so strong. Rhys remembered he had to try to fight. Again, the itch-like pain came back, building and building. Rhys stood there, already instinctively knowing the relief would come when he obeyed. The pain grew, as well as a pressure in his head. He groaned. “Ugggghhh, fuck.” 

“Hmm,” Jack mused quietly. “Gonna have to up the discomfort levels, I think. Can’t imagine you’re that good at resisting an opportunity to hump my leg.”

The agony-like sensation spiked, sending a tingly shudder through his body. Rhys had to- had to had- to had to. He rushed over and straddled Jack’s thigh, gripping Jack’s lapels to steady himself. He shoved his boner down onto Jack’s leg. He rolled his hips, moving faster and faster. He felt on cloud nine, warmth pooling in his body. “Oh fuck,” he moaned, a warm feeling, like syrup, slid through his body.

“Wow you’re so into this,” Jack mused. “It’s kinda gross. Even the obedience routine couldn’t make you _this_ enthusiastic.”

The insult went to his dick, somehow. He throbbed in his pants. Rhys moved harder, panting, heart pounding. Jack changed position a bit, guiding Rhys to a more convenient angle with hands on his thighs.

“There you go,” Jack purred. “Get it all out of your system, Rhysie.”

Rhys groaned and his orgasm took him by surprise. It was abrupt and intense, going through his core and down his spine and straight through his dick. His underwear felt sticky and wet. Rhys slumped against Jack, exhausted. Jack stroked his back, weirdly gentle. He urged his leg out from between Rhys’s. “You’re a freaking filthy boy, Rhysie. Quite disgusting.”

“Nnng, shut up,” Rhys said, for the millionth time.

“You need a bigger vocabulary, kiddo.”

Rhys reached for Jack’s belt, but Jack pushed him away. “Nope.”

“What?” Rhys blinked up at him. “You don’t want the favor returned?”

There was a weird pause, in which Jack looked a bit conflicted. Rhys didn't really understand why. “What, you think I’m into _you_? The little sad wannabe? Gimme a break… Do you see any boner?”

“...no.” Rhys frowned. 

Jack tugged Rhys head to the side, staring at the expanse of his jaw and neck, as if contemplating. He shrugged. A cruel grin on his face.. “If I wanted to fuck a sad little dork, I’d just go bone some R&D nerd… Isn’t that where you came from?”

“I was in securities propaganda!” Rhys’s offense grew.

“Oh god that’s worse… Just really a pathetic picture overall, ain't you…? But I like you like this, as a little obedient pawn. I’ll keep ya around. Well,” Jack frowned. “You can stay at Atlas, but when I come calling, you answer to me, you little slut.”

Rhys gritted his teeth. “Fuck you.”

“Better than ‘shut up’,” Jack laughed. 

Rhys finally straightened up. God, he was going to reverse this code and then rip Jack’s throat out himself.

“See ya around, kiddo,” Jack said jovially, patting his cheek and leaving.

God damn everything.

**Author's Note:**

> My implied hc.... Jack is definitely into Rhys. He's just having some ED and being an ass about it. ;)


End file.
